Seating Chart
by strawberry.sparkle
Summary: Who knew that something as small as a seating chart could lead to so much more? Oneshot. Slightly AU.


**Hellooooooo! I'm back! With another oneshot! Writing full stories isn't really my thing, so expect one-shots from me. This is probably my longest one yet, and I hope you like it! **

**This is dedicated to Stessa and taywrites for being such awesome authors. The only reason your stories aren't in my favs are because you have too many good ones! This is also dedicated to CJ.xox.Dancerella, and little.miss.sarcasm for being great PM friends. And of course, to hsmfan101 and Shroomy133, for helping me decide the pairing and giving me some ideas when I had a little writer's block. You all get cameos! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical……..P**

* * *

**Seating Chart**

* * *

"Welcome back, students, to second semester AP Chemistry," Ms. Griffin, the AP science teacher told her students the first day back after winter break. "Since this is a new semester, we will have several new students joining us today. So, please welcome, Troy Bolton, Chad Danforth, Stessa Kimling, and Taylor Alexson.

Gabriella and Taylor grinned at each other. They weren't really good friends with Troy and Chad, but they knew them, and they also knew that having them in the class would make it a lot more fun. They, of course, had no clue that Troy and Chad had only joined the class because Troy and Chad had had crushes on Gabriella and Taylor, respectively. That, and because they had done so surprisingly well in regular Chemistry, that their teacher recommended that they test for AP Chemistry. They passed, and luckily, got the class with their crushes.

"Ok, class, here is your new seating chart. Each table holds four people, and those will be your lab groups for the next 4 weeks. I change seats every four weeks, for those who are new. Troy, sit here, Charlotte, next to him, Gabriella, across from him, and Courtney, next to Gabriella." She motioned them to go to the first table.

"Hey," Troy told Gabriella.

"Hi," Gabriella replied. She liked Troy, but not more than she did any human being.

Before he could respond, Ms. Griffin interrupted. "Ok, class. First, let's work on getting some worksheets done. I don't like to do them, but we have to before we can start the labs, and learning the new, more complex stuff. The worksheets are basically a review of some chemistry you probably learned in middle school, so we'll be going over chemical bonding, balancing equations, physical and chemical changes, and a whole lot of stuff you should already know this week. So, finish this worksheet by the end of the day, you have plenty of time, and we can go over it tomorrow."

And with that, the class got to work.

* * *

"So, today is the last day of worksheet torture. This one is a review of balancing equations. Once you finish this last one, you can start your notes and pre-lab plan sheet, the notes are due tomorrow, and the planning sheet, you won't be turning in, but I highly recommend doing it, and your lab will go by much smoother if you do it. Ok, now get to work!" Ms Griffin told her class the following Monday.

"Wow," Troy said. "AP Chemistry is much harder than I thought it would be."

Gabriella laughed. "Well, that's why they call it AP Chemistry. So, do you take any other AP courses?"

"Yeah, English, and Math. I'm in Pre-Calc right now," He replied.

"Ok, class that's enough chit-chatting. This is really important to know. You can talk to help each other, but get to work!" Ms Griffin interrupted.

"We really should be working. Let's see, we have to add a coefficient of two, but that's a compound, so we have to add a three on this side. But then we have to add another two, so a four?" Gabriella asked, half to herself, half to Troy.

"Well, no, see if you add a coefficient of three to this one, then you can add four to that one, then two to the one on this side, so that works, too," Troy told Gabriella.

"Really? Wow! It does! You're good at this! And the next one has the coefficients of three, five, and two."

Troy checked her work and replied, "Did you ever doubt my smartness? And those are the answers."

Gabriella laughed and rolled her eyes. Talking, they completed the worksheet, occasionally arguing over who was right about what problem. As Gabriella looked at Troy, she noticed his strikingly blue eyes. And how ….. well, striking they were. And how his dark, sandy hair fell elegantly to his shoulders, but didn't cover his ears. _Could I be falling for Troy? _Gabriella thought_. Nah. He's just a regular guy. Who's taking three AP classes while being captain of the basketball team. He wouldn't like a nerd like me, anyways._

* * *

The same Wednesday, Ms. Griffin's students had to do a lab involving several chemicals. "Ok, guys. You all are high-schoolers, so I expect you to be careful with these chemicals. If you aren't, I can, and I will not do any more labs with you all. I'm making that clear right now. No fooling around, ok? Go ahead and start," She told her students.

"Ok, I really want to do more labs this year, so let's be extra careful, ok?" Gabriella asked her group. They nodded their heads in agreement.

"Ok," Troy said. She looked at him, and her heart skipped a beat. _Why did that just happen? I don't like Troy. Or do I? I mean, he is pretty cute. And funny. And smart. Ohmigod, I'm falling for Troy. Bolton. Ok, Gabriella, breathe. You cannot let a crush get in the way of your science grade. _And with that, she put on her serious working-with-chemicals face, and started doing the lab.

"So, guys, I think we should each take one chemical, and do one test each with it. And for the remaining two, we can pair up, and test those." Gabriella told her group.

"Sounds good to me. Charlotte and Courtney, why don't you two work together, on the last one, and me and Gabby – I mean – Gabriella, can work on the one before that.

Charlotte and Courtney, clearly knowing that Troy and Gabriella liked each other, agreed.

Meanwhile, Gabriella was freaking out. In her mind, of course. _What? Why did he choose me? Why not Charlotte or Courtney? Does this mean he likes me? No, of course he doesn't. He only chose you because he knows that Charlotte and Courtney are good friends. Ok? Now breathe. In. Out. In. Out. And for goodness sakes, don't look so freaked out! _

"O-O-Ok," Gabriella stuttered. And with that, they started conducting the chemical tests.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

That night, before Gabriella fell asleep, she thought, like she always did. Today though, she thought about Troy. Did she like him? Yes. Did he like her? Probably not. Did that change the fact that she liked him? No. Did she only like him because they were sitting next to each other? Well, technically, they were sitting across from each other. This last question was the one Gabriella thought the most about. She had gotten to know Troy a lot more during the past week, doing all those worksheets with him. And, she told herself, she wouldn't have known how cool, and down-to-earth he was without that. _So I only liked him because we worked together? _Yes, she told herself. But that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. It was fate, she supposed, that put them near each other on that seating chart. Ok, it was Ms Griffin who made the seating chart. But fate must have told her. Right? Either way, she did know about one thing. She was glad that they were sitting next to each other.

* * *

The next day, when Gabriella opened her locker, she found a note. It was from Troy. _Gabriella – Meet me at the secret spot during your off period. – Troy_.

Troy had told Gabriella about the rooftop garden while they had been discussing forms of matter. Gabriella grinned as the bell that signaled off-period rung, and made her way to the stairs.

As she went up, she heard a voice singing

This could be the start  
Of something new  
It feels so right  
To be here with you  
And now looking in your eyes  
I feel in my heart  
The start of something new…

"I didn't know you sing! Why didn't you tell me?"

Troy was caught off guard. "Um, I don't really. Just you know, a song that was stuck in my head."

"I do that a lot. My mom gets so annoyed with me. She's threatened to duct tape my mouth several times," Gabriella told him.

Troy laughed. "That would be very interesting. My parent's say that sometimes I sing in my sleep. I think it would be weird to sing in your sleep, though. Don't you?"

"Well, people do weird things when sleeping. My mom says when I was a baby, that I used to sleepwalk. Well, sleepcrawl, I guess."

They continued chatting for 20 more minutes or so, until Gabriella finally asked. "So, what are we doing up here anyways?"

Troy looked slightly panicked, but then returned to normal. He took a deep breath, and opened his mouth, then closed it. Then, he said, "Well, I just, well, I told you about it, and I wanted you to see it. It's such a peaceful place." He turned to the railing, and looked over the school's lawn.

Gabriella stood up, looked at him, and went to go stand by him. She looked over the lawn, and noticed that the only sound was the gentle whooshing of the light breeze in the air. "It is," she said, and they stood like that for a while, until Gabriella grabbed Troy's hand to check his watch.

"Whoa, I," he started to say, but was cut off by the fact from the spark he felt.

"Uh, I forgot my watch at home, and I wanted to see how much time we have left," Gabriella said, a rosy blush creeping up onto her cheeks.

"We have ten minutes left," Troy said, looking at his watch, then at his shoes. "W-We'd better get going."

Then, not being able to look at each other, they headed down the stairs, and into the school.

* * *

That night, as Troy fell asleep, he thought about Gabriella. At first, he had only had the type of crush every boy has on his favorite celebrity. But now, after sitting next to her, it was so much more than that. She was pretty. She was smart. She always managed to make a good conversation. And most importantly of all, she was real. The couple of cheerleaders he had gone out with had been so superficial. They always wore mini-skirts and tiny tops no matter what the weather. They always had their cell phone with them in their purse, and texted their friends whenever, which Troy thought was quite rude.. And, what he hated the most, they always wore tons of make-up. But not Gabriella. She dressed for the weather, which he appreciated. He had never seen her with a cell phone. Heck, he didn't even know if she had one or not! And she always looked so natural. Troy knew she wore some make-up, but it was so little, and so natural, you wouldn't be able to know. Troy liked her so much more now. But that was only because they had sat next to each other. He wouldn't have known how amazing she was if he had sat next to someone else. _So I only like her so much more now because we sat next to eachother?_ Yes, he knew. But that couldn't have been a bad thing. Somehow, Ms. Griffin knew to seat them next to each other. How? He had no clue. Maybe it was fate. However, he knew one thing. He was glad that they were sitting next to each other.

* * *

The next day, during practice, Chad noticed his friend seemed distracted. After practice, he went to go talk to him

"Dude, you Ok?"

"What?" Troy broke out of his trance, and looked at his best friend. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why would you think I'm not?"

"I know you are. But you seemed, well, distracted during practice," Chad told him.

"I'm fine. Just tired."

"Come on Troy. We've been best friends since pre-school. I think I know when something's on your mind."

Troy sighed. Chad was right. Something was on his mind. _Someone_, more specifically.

"So," Chad continued. "Who is it?"

Troy stared at Chad. "Dude. It's like you can read my mind or something."

Chad ignored this comment. 'Troy, don't worry about Gabriella. She is crazy over you. And you've only liked her since the start of high school. Ask her out!"

"Chad – Wait. How did you know it was Gabriella?"

"Taylor and I have been watching you two. She agrees with me. Plus, you two look, in her words 'adorable' together. And I agree with that, too. You guys make a good match."

At this, Troy grinned. "So someone likes Taylor, huh?"

"Well, um, yeah. Did I mention that I asked her out? We're kinda going out now," Chad said.

"What! And you didn't tell me!" Troy exclaimed, slightly mad.

"Well, I only just asked her before practice, and you know Coach wants us to practice during practice, not socialize. But that's not my point. Gabriella really likes you. And I know you like her too! So ask her out!"

Troy sighed. "It's not that simple, you know. She's this genius, and I'm a basketball player. She would never like me."

Chad rolled his eyes. "Troy, please. This is for your own good. She is smitten with you. And you are with her. Taylor heard this from Gabriella herself. And if she doesn't like you – and that won't happen – then," he paused for a second before continuing. "Then I'll – I'll break up with Taylor myself," he ended in a quiet voice.

It was then Troy knew that Chad was serious. He knew Chad was completely in love with Taylor. And if he was willing to break up with her if she was lying, then Troy knew that this must be true. That meant that Gabriella really did like him! Now there was only one question. How should he ask her out?

* * *

One week later, Ms. Griffin was doing a lab in front of her whole class. "So, once you add this to the bag, there should, according to the equations, be a chemical reaction."

Troy looked at her adding some white powder to a bag, and slid the piece of paper over to Gabriella. She was, however, too immersed in taking notes on the lab to pay attention. Troy leaned over to slide the note even farther down. Unfortunately for him, though, it was this exact moment that Ms. Griffin turned around.

"Troy!" He jumped. "What do you have there?" Ms. Griffin asked him, somewhat casually. "A note? Perhaps you would like me to read it for the whole class?"

Troy opened his mouth to say something but no words came out.

"At the end of the period it is." And with that, she continued the lab.

Meanwhile, Troy was nervously paying attention to the lab. Did he want Ms. Griffin to read the note in front of the class? Well, no! Actually, as he thought about it, he decided that it could work. But before he knew it, it was the end of the period.

"Ok, then. We have a couple of minutes left, and you know my note policy. Either I read them out to the whole class, or you get detention. Troy, take your pick," Ms. Griffin told him.

"Um, uh, I, um, guess you could read it to the whole class…."

"Very well then." She opened the note. She read, "Gabriella, will you go out with me? Troy. Awwwww. How adorable of you. Well, Gabriella, I guess the only thing you can do now is respond. What do you say?"

Gabriella was stunned. The whole class was looking at her. "Y-y-yes!"

The entire class then burst out into a chorus of Awwws, except for Troy, who said, half under his breath, "Yes!"

Gabriella giggled. Well, everyone knew what her favorite class was now.

* * *

**So, what did you think? That took me about a week to finish, and it was based off of a real-life experience. Well, some parts were, anyway. So tell me what you thought by dropping a review! Please? Anyways, thank you for reading my one-shot, and I wish you a good time on ****D B-)**


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